[petepete]

I use Excalidraw because I like the hand-drawn look when planning/sketching things out.

If/when I make the jump to actual documentation I use Mermaid so I can keep everything tidy under source control.

[lvncelot]

+1 for Excalidraw, especially regarding the "multiplayer" aspect.

In general, if sketching it out, whether alone or with multiple people, using something simple I can click, drag & label is more than enough and helps me keep the flow. (I would stick to actually drawing - either on a whiteboard or something digital - but my handwriting is absolutely atrocious)

As soon as I'm done sketching and move over to actually documenting a concrete solution, something code-based like Mermaid - as you said - is much nicer. But both are entirely different processes for me.

[rapnie]

In Mermaid, while I like it a lot, you lose control of layout positioning. Does the auto-layout position large diagrams (many shapes + connectors) appropriately?

The Excalidraw export format is JSON, so you might use that in source control just as well. Or include the format in PNG or SVG export (which draw.io supports also).

[quickthrower2]

Excalidraw is very nice in it’s simplicity. A rectangle can do a lot there: a textbox, a window, a mobile phone.

[jahlove]

draw.io (now called diagrams.net) has a sketch style that mimics xkcd / Excalidraw. You can try it here:

https://app.diagrams.net/

[apatap]

There is even a desktop app available (but the webapp works offline too):

https://www.drawio.com/blog/diagrams-offline